SpeechRep » Uncategorized

from A Boss Who Tells it Like it IS: To All My Valued Employees I have News for You

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:16:55 +0000

Every now and again you get some e-mail that actually has some meaning and purpose. In this one perspective he tells exactly how it is going to be, and it is not going to be pretty. Author Unknown in the post below.

from A Boss Who Tells it Like it IS

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn’t pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests. First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You’ve seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I’m sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don’t see is the back story. I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn’t have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business — hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom’s for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting any clothing item that didn’t look like it was birthed in the 70′s. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don’t. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden — the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations… you never realize the back story and the sacrifices I’ve made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn’t. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I’ve paid is steep and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don’t pay enough I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provid ed 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you’d quit and you wouldn’t work here. I mean, why should you? That’s nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don’t understand …. to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn’t need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don’t defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It’s quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child’s future. Frankly, it isn’t my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I’m done. I ‘m done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

So, if you lose your job, it won’t be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about….

Signed,

Your boss

Just in 1 Week – Bernard L. Madoff – Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois – Wal-Mart

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 08:13:29 +0000

Greed is good. This is a story for the ages, however I bet there are people in the Fed stealing more. Imagine what you could do with $50 Billion? How many people can you feed and house? How many people could you educate? It is mind blowing, Wall St has done it again, fleeced the investors. Check out the criminal web site taken over by the Feds.

I did a podcast today about greed and success at any cost with Patrick Wanis to put a little perspective on this and many other issues facing our world today. What you might also want to do is look at this web site move called the Money Masters, it follows the money as does the Zeitgeist Addendum.

If you really want to be enlightened listen to this podcast from Guy Finley about the murder at Wal-Mart.

Are we having problems or what? When are people going to be accountable for their actions?

“Monetize the real estate in which somebody is breaking up with their girlfriend?”

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:08:55 +0000

In this AdAge.com article I can see that Mr. Ted McConnell, general manager-interactive marketing and innovation at Procter & Gamble Co. has an issue with banner ads on Facebook for his branded products. It sounds to me a bit emotional and at the same time practical. At the end of the day all of us don’t have the exact answer how to play the social media game from an income stand point. There is a lot of real estate and a lot of impressions to be had for sure, but so is wrapping your car with an advertisment, however the cost can be a bit staggering.

"I have a reaction to that as a consumer advocate and an advertiser," he said. "What in heaven’s name made you think you could monetize the real estate in which somebody is breaking up with their girlfriend?"

I went to the Media All Stars luncheon in NYC this past week and learned that Colleen Soriano of MEC Interactive figured out a way to get some 1 Billion impressions for her client Colgate MaxFresh Toothpaste on MySpace.com. This is a consumer brand. 98% of the people on MySpace have teeth, I hope. She said "younger people today are really consumed with the idea of fame; something like 80% of the 18-24s believe that they are going to be famous some day, it’s something not so much that they aspire to , but they expect. So we looked at that and put together a program that fed off that expectation."

One Billion Impressions is a Huge Success. Soriano is a Rock Star in Advertising. She was in great company with Gene Simmons.

The real secret of life is the participation in it, not the imagination of it

admin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:30:52 +0000

Listen to the Part II interview first.

In my experience I have been part of companies that have succeeded fantastically and failed fantastically. One common theme between them all is how much the company succeeds or fails is in direct relation to the growth of their leadership, mine included. Guy Finley says that if there is a problem (any problem) it is only because of ones’ refusal to learn. If we look back on our failures 10 years ago we know now exactly where we went wrong, we refused to learn at the time.

The first interview with Guy Finley covers a lot of information about his Best Selling book "Secret of Letting Go." DO NOT MISS this interview, this in an interview of the “truthful kind.”

In Part II Finley talks about TPIC’s (Temporary Person in Charge). From one minute to the next our values and desires can change , depending on which TPIC is in control.

Guy provides a unique view of the Bailout, the Economic meltdown, The Event. Guy asks, what is it that I don’t want? He says “The event” has absolutely no meaning, it is neutral. I have a negative reaction to the event, do I really possess the possession of power and control? Answer, NO. “We fly in fear all the time.”

The root of all negative reactions (thoughts) is “resistance.” Resistance is “negative attraction.” The Secret is full of holes. The real secret of life is the participation in it, not the imagination of it. You can see the crumbling of civilizations every 200 years, we keep repeating the same behaviors.

Finley also covers the importance of "self-study," the KEY ingredient for success. We also cover topics like imagination, the truth and resistance. These are major areas of focus in Finley’s work and he provides some real insights.

Lastly we touch on the ills of politics and the pharmaceutical industry. Enjoy, this man has a lot to offer and can help shed light on areas in your life that has not been illuminated before. He can help you help your own business or business career.

What does sales 2.0 actually mean?

admin — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:35:47 +0000

I saved this comment on this article and republished it here since I did not see a confirmation it was going into moderation or elsewhere. I typically do not spend a lot of time on site comments but I figured this one deserved my 2 cents. The article title is: What does sales 2.0 actually mean?

Comments might be on : http://www.insidecrm.com/features/what-sales2-mean-091708/index.php

Sales technology, tracking, CRM have improved in the past 20 years, so let’s call it Sales 2.0. Sales 2.0 does NOT foster brand loyality. Branding is created by the marketing department and it is an image that creates TRUST, logos do this really well…"call it corporate identity." Sales people have the opportunity to extend that BRAND LOYALITY but they ARE NOT brand loyality. In terms of cuing the sales person on buying signals Sales 2.0 does not do this. The sales person asks the buyer questions (engagement, but a normal sales process) and if the questions are relevant the sales person has an opportunity to follow up with a deeper probe and then hopefully the buying signals appear AFTER enough value has been delivered.

What is needed is REVENUE 1.0 and Profits 1.0. People buy from people. When you have a product that is ordered online without a human a la Amazon, Netflix that could be considered Sales 2.0, however not all business models support that type of transaction. If I want to buy a banana I buy it from a human. New buzz words like "customer engagement" and "Sales 2.0" keeps authors and ad agencies in business. jim www.speechrep.com

Tuesday Nov. 4 I did not vote today…….

admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:46:04 +0000

I did not vote today for John McCain or Barack Obama, a Republican or a Democrat for President. Neither one of the 2 major parties have demonstrated that they earned the right to spend our tax dollars or manage our government. I voted two weeks ago (absentee) for Ralph Nader. Why? Many reasons. He is the only person who has demonstrated accountability (new word in the English language) by his ACTIONS. The words of the other 2 candidates have been empty and meaningless. If we are expecting CHANGE, we as a people have to change. Until then don’t expect much, because you ain’t gonna get it from a Democrat or a Republican. Our country needs a strong third party, period…..if we are to see any change that is productive.

Virtual Trade Associations | 3-D Trade Shows?

admin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:08:42 +0000

What is this world coming to? Imagine having a Virtual Association? Or a Virtual CES? Or a Virtual Woodstock? Or a virtual sit in in Washington, D.C. after Obama is elected? Well it is here now and it will be here in a lot more forms in the next couple of years. While "social media" is basically a 2 D bulletin board system with lots of bells and whistles this virtual association and virtual trade show industry is going to lead the way. Some people use the Second Life platform after the California Company or some people are using the open source Active Worlds platform.

"I think there will be a full spectrum of different models encompassing what we have today, ideas that are starting to emerge, and totally new concepts that have yet to be seen anywhere. I think we will see dramatic growth in virtual associations, where the members come together via the web and all service delivery is done electronically; there may be nominal fees but the bulk of revenues will come from users paying for whatever they want to buy from their community." These trends are profiled in detail in the book Designing Your Future. Rohit Talwar, president of Fast Future Research

Cold.com is Yours for a Cool $1 million

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:52:14 +0000

I happened to be looking up "common cold" on the internet and I found cold.com domain being sold for a cool $1 Million Dollars. Now this is some ocean front Internet real estate if you can get it, they aren’t making it any more but they are making cold.net, cold.biz and cold.us but not cold.com.

High Value Domain Names

Cold.com is one of the few high value, 4-letter .com domain names to be put up for auction recently. High value domain names that have sold for at least US$1 million include: Fund.com at just under US$10 million (topping the list so far for 2008); Diamond.com and Business.com, both US$7.5 million; AsSeenOnTV.com, US$5.1 million; Vodka.com and CreditCheck.com, both US$3 million; and Rebate.com, US$1 million. A list compiled from public sources of the 30 high value domain names that have sold for at least US$1 million can be found at www.PatentKinetics.com.

Usless E-mail Marketing by a Major Airline

admin — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:20:27 +0000

For the past few years I have been a frequent flyer MileagePlus on United Airlines, however not lately. I live in the Boston area, they know that…..please take note the airport code is BOS. I can’t figure out why they market United E-Fares flights from places like Boise (BOI) to San Francisco (SFO) to me? Do they know something I don’t? Even worse than that they don’t even offer me a single flight from my home town.

Two things might be going on here. One, they don’t care and the marketing person is clueless. Two, their e-mail communications software package can’t produce dynamic database driven e-mail newsletters. I have a feeling it is number one, because I believe the technology exists.

Old Spaces – New Messages Billboards and E-mail Ad Servers

admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:27:32 +0000

I love coming across new ideas like this. I was reading an article where a company called Interference, Inc. creates ads where there were no ads. They carved out a new space, a truly new advertising medium. This can be called guerilla marketing sice the space is not really rented out, it could be the side of a building or a bare wall inside a bar. Right now the press on this idea is getting the true ad impressions because of the novelty, let’s hope it succeeds.

In another scenario an E-mail Ad Server company called Impactia is serving text ads into corporate e-mail’s. So imagine if you are El Al Airlines (Happy New Year BTW) and your customer service person has just completed a phone reservation. Customer service sends the customer back an e-mail and in the e-mail are 3 text ads with other offers from El Al on other flights. Impactia is seeing 5-7% Click Through Rates on their text ads in e-mail’s. They have about a dozen or so customers, keep an eye on this company.